Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras communicated with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and the President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker on Monday evening, while the talks in Athens were in full swing.
Reports indicate that the mood between the Greek and German leaders was somber, as Mrs. Merkel repeated the proposal for a “bridge” agreement. On the contrary, the French leader and European Commission chief appeared to be more supportive.
Last week, Mr. Tsipras met with Mr. Hollande in Egypt, on the sidelines of the new Suez Canal inauguration festivities and stated that an agreement can and must be reached after the 15th of August. The spokesperson for the European Commission also echoed earlier statements by Mr. Juncker and underlined the prospect of reaching an agreement by the 20th of August.
The German government has expressed its reservations over the progress of talks and underlined that any payments to Greece must be associated with Athens’ progress in implementing agreed reforms. A spokesperson for German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble argued that Berlin is not participating in the Athens talks, but will carefully examine any agreement documents before put it to vote in the German parliament.
